07032019-btd-01.qxd 06-03-2019 23:28 Page 1 c m y b Bathinda TRIBUNE FINALLY, FARMERS LIFT RAIL BLOCKADE IN AMRITSAR Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee lifts blockade after the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY INBRIEF MIMIT HOLDS CONVOCATION Malout: The Malout Institute of Management and Information Technology (MIMIT) on Wednesday organised its sixth convocation and alumni meet to confer degrees on pass-out students. Deputy Speaker Ajaib Singh Bhatti, who is also the Malout MLA, was the chief guest on the occasion. As many as 415 students of various disciplines, including BTech (CSE, ECE, ME and IT), BBA, BCA, BCom and MBA, received degrees. Merit certificates and medals were also awarded to 61 students for their remarkable achievements in the field of academics. TNS THREE BIKES STOLEN IN CITY Bathinda: Three motorcycles have been stolen from areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Civil Lines police station. Harjiwan Singh, a resident of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, stated to the police that his motorcycle (PB 03 AD 4256) was stolen from the Liberty chowk. On his complaint, a case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered in this regard. As per information, a motorcycle (PB 03 AD 8066) has been stolen from the district courts, while a bike (PB 03 W 7806) was stolen from outside HDFC bank here. TNS FUEL PRICES PETROL ~72.11 DIESEL ~66.47 WHAT’S ON BATHINDA REFRESHER COURSE: Third day of the refresher course for the faculty at the Central University of Punjab; 10 am PAGE 2 AYUSHMANN TO PLAY A COP IN ANUBHAV SINHA’S ARTICLE 15 VINEET RAINA SAYS HE DOESN’T RELATE TO HIS ROLE AT ALL Versatile actor Ayushmann Khurrana to be seen in the role of a police officer in Anubhav Sinha’s Article 15. MAX 24°C | MIN 9°C | YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6:32 PM After over two years, work of laying water pipeline resumes in Faridkot Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Faridkot, March 6 After over two years, the work of laying a 3-km-long pipeline resumed here on Wednesday. The work was initiated again after the state government released ~1.29 crore for the project aimed at providing potable water to Faridkot town. The work started again in the presence of Faridkot MLA Kushaldeep Dhillon. He blamed the SAD for the delay in the completion of the project. He said to get political mileage, the SAD had started the project days before the Assembly elections in 2017, but the funds for it were not released, which led to the delay. The MLA said the project would now be completed in the next three months. Besides facing a shortage of funds, the project was caught between the Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training and Border Security Force (BSF). The project, which will be come up at a cost of ~5.22 crore, faced hurdles in January 2016 when the Water Supply and Sanitation Department had started laying a 3-km-long pipeline (1m internal diameter) from Raja Minor (a water distributary of the Abohar canal) to Faridkot city. The objective of the project is to give 18 cusec of water to the town. Before the department could release water in the pipeline, the BSF raised objections to the laying of about 400 m pipeline on its campus. The BSF was of the view the pipeline through the PAGE 3 PAGE 4 Vineet, who plays the role of Virat in the show Ishq Mein Marjawan, says he doesn’t relate to his role at all. SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:49 AM THURSDAY | 7 MARCH 2019 | BATHINDA City bags first position in state, 31st in country Swachh Survey 2019Secures 3,520.18 points out of 5,000 Sukhmeet Bhasin Tribune News Service MLA Kushaldeep Dhillon resumes the work of laying a 3-km-long water pipeline in Faridkot on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO HURDLES HIT PROJECT IN PAST ■ The project, which will come up at a cost of ~5.22 crore, faced hurdles in January 2016 when the Water Supply and Sanitation Department had started laying a 3-km-long pipeline (1m internal diameter) from Raja Minor (a distributary of the Abohar canal) to Faridkot city. The objective of the project is to give 18 cusecs of water to the town. ■ Before the department could release water in the pipeline, the BSF raised objections to the laying of about 400-m pipeline on its campus. campus was a threat to its security. Thereafter, it asked the department to shift the pipeline. Thereafter, the department had approached the Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training to shift the pipeline to the ITI situated adjacent to the BSF campus here. “We have got the permission to shift the pipeline from the BSF campus to the ITI campus,” said Dhillon. However, besides increasing the project cost, the shifting of the 400 m pipeline is set to increase the length by about 150 m, said sources in the Water Supply and Sanitation Department. Seven years ago, Faridkot residents had launched a prolonged agitation, demanding the drinking water supply for the town from the Abohar canal instead of Sirhind Feeder. They said there was pollution in Sirhind Feeder. The Abohar canal is a distributary of Bhakra Canal and the water in this canal is comparatively of good quality. Raja Minor is a small distributary of the Abohar canal. Bathinda, March 6 The city has topped the state in the Swachh Survey 2019 conducted by the Union Ministry of Urban Development. Bathinda bagged the 31st rank at the national level. In January, members of the Quality Council of India had conducted the survey in 4,200 cities across the country. The survey had total 5,000 points — 1,250 points for Urban Local Bodies Documentation, 1,250 points for field survey, 1,250 points of citizen feedback and 1,250 points of certification (ODF rating). The city got total 3,520.18 points — 1,060 points in field survey, 1,025.48 points in citizen feedback, 924.7 points in documentation and 500 points in certification — in the survey. Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Praneet congratulated the Municipal Corporation and residents for securing the first position in the state and 31st place in India for keeping the clean. He said, “As many as 4,237 cities participated in the survey. In the Swachhata Survey 2018 as well, the city was ranked first in the state and got 104th position overall in the country. This year, the city has jumped 73 places overall.” The Quality Council of India had conducted a survey in the country in January. TRIBUNE PHOTO ❝ As many as 4,237 cities participated in the survey. In the Swachhata Survey 2018 as well, the city was ranked first in the state and got 104th position overall in the country. This year, the city has jumped 73 places overall. ❞ Praneet, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER It is learnt that Bathinda has scored well in solid waste management and its documentation. It is the major reason that various MAJOR REASON FOR GOOD PERFORMANCE It is learnt that Bathinda has scored well in solid waste management and its documentation. It is a major reason why various major cities like Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar lagged behind in the survey. They did not have a working solid waste management plant. major cities like Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar lagged behind in the survey. They don’t have a working solid waste man- agement plant. An MC official, on condition of anonymity, said, “Solid waste management disposal and collection, along with its documentation, have played a great role in getting the first rank in the state and scoring well overall in the survey.” It is pertinent to mention that Bathinda has been performing well in this survey for the past four years. The survey was initiated in 2015 as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2015. Farmers’ body seeks implementation of Swaminathan report Bike-borne men target Tribune News Service Bathinda, March 6 In favour of their demands, members of the BKU Sidhupur staged a protest against the Union Government in front of the DC office here on Wednesday. Raised slogans against the Centre, they accused it of ignoring their demands. The protest was headed by BKU Sidhupur state senior vice-president Kaka Singh Kotra and district president Baldev Singh Sandoha. The BKU members protested for three hours and when no official from the district administration came out to take the memorandum, they blocked the GT Road. Later, the SDM came to meet the protesters. After that, a delegation headed by Kaka Singh Kotra met Deputy Commissioner Praneet in his office and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Union Government. In their memorandum, the BKU members said “from January 30 to February 5, Anna Hazare and members of the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh had staged a protest for farmers. Thereafter, on February 5, a delegation of four Union ministers had promised them that before the poll code comes into force, a notification would be issued for the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, but to no avail till date”. Lashing at the Centre, farmer leaders Baldev Singh Sandoha and Resham Singh Yatri said the issues of farmers were deliberately ignored and there were deliberate attempts to make a war-like situation after the Pulwama attack. They said except for waiving farmers’ debt, the government had not done anything to provide relief to farmers from drought, waterlogging and other natural calamities. They added that the government was giving subsidy and waiving loans of big corporate houses. The members of the BKU also demanded from the Union Government to preset a separate budget for agriculture. They also threatened to initiate an agitation against the BJP across the country if their demands were not fulfilled ahead of the poll code. finance firm employee Snatch bag containing ~37,770 from him Tribune News Service Farmers protest on the GT Road in front of the DC office in Bathinda on Wednesday. VIJAY KUMAR Farmer leaders Darshan Singh, Beant Singh, Gurdeep Singh, Ranjit Singh, Balwinder Singh and Arjun Singh were present on the occasion. During the protest, bees attacked a few farmers at the protest site. Bathinda, March 6 In broad daylight, three unidentified bike-borne persons snatched a bag containing ~37,770 from an employee of a private finance company near Kuttiwal Khurd village in the district on Wednesday. According to the available information, Rajesh Kumar, an employee of a finance company that provides money on interest to villagers, was returning after collecting the money on his bike. Rajesh said when he reached near Kuttiwal Khurd village, three unidentified bike-borne persons came THE INCIDENT ■ Victim Rajesh said when he reached near Kuttiwal Khurd village, three unidentified bikeborne persons came from the back and stopped him. ■ He said the accused snatched his bag containing the money from him. from the rear side and stopped him. He said the accused snatched his bag containing the money from him. He told the police that he tried to resist them, but failed. He said besides the money, the accused took away a mobile tab. Thereafter, he lodged a complaint with the Maur police. Roadshow by YAD troubles commuters Landless Dalit labourers hold protest Archit Watts CONGRESS WORKERS SHOW BLACK FLAGS Tribune News Service Malout, March 6 Commuters faced inconvenience due to the roadshow taken out by the Youth Akali Dal here on Wednesday. It started from the outskirts of Muktsar and culminated at the grain market here. The roadshow was carried out to welcome former Cabinet minister and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia and take him to the rally venue. Continued on page 2 ■ A cavalcade of vehicles moves on the Dabwali-Malout national highway in Muktsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Some Congress workers on Wednesday showed black flags when the cavalcade of Bikram Singh Majithia reached Malout town. ■ Holding black flags and posters mentioning “Go back Majithia”, they also called him a “drug trader”. ■ The protesters, who were thin in numbers, remained present atop a roundabout on the Bathinda road. c m y b Tribune News Service Bathinda, March 6 On a call by the district committee of the Dihati Mazdoor Sabha, a large number of landless Dalit labourers staged a protest outside the SDM office here on Wednesday. Later, they took out a protest march to the office of the ADC (Development). The protest was headed by committee’s district president Mithu Singh Ghudda. They also submitted a Labourers stage a dharna in Bathinda on Wednesday. PAWAN SHARMA memorandum, addressing the state government, to district administration officials. In the memorandum, they demanded 10 marla for each landless family of the Dalits and ~3 lakh per family for the construction of houses. Besides, they demanded ~600 per day work allowance throughout the year under the MNREGA, unemployment allowance if they don’t get work and old age/widow/handicap Continued on page 2

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